...
.....
.......
... w... wha... what?
Wait... what?
As the gun fires, as the gunfire echoes and rings out, Chouko falls backwards at this sound. Facing her death head on, the sound- just makes her eyes go wide as she falls backwards, as she falls away from the gun. In that moment, her death should have come.
She should be dead, deceased, lifeless right about now with a bullet through her brain. No further sensation, no further thought.
And yet, she isn't dead.
Chouko isn't dead.
Still living, somehow, Chouko... Chouko just... just looked... absolutely bewildered. Why is she not dead? After the gun loudly fires, she watches the bullet come out of the gun... and stares as it just completely goes through her head. Not in the physical bullet sense. Rather... the same way as a mere ghost passing through her body, incapable of directly pushing or touching physical human flesh.
It is merely a completely painless, a completely sensationless sight of a bullet coming out of the gun and passing through her head. As if it were intangible, as if it simply flew through her mind like air. Chouko just sees and hears a bullet pass through, furthermore. Nothing about feeling it, nothing about actually being hurt by it... she only saw and heard it.
Chouko realizes she's completely unharmed by the bullet, that it did absolutely nothing to her.
For some reason... she's still alive. Chouko's eyes flutter as she feels herself- as she still feels alive. As she's still alive after that.
Chouko is completely, utterly bewildered by this, confused about why the bullet simply just passed through her head, staring forward with complete and utter confusion. Her eyes completely wide as her vision grew completely hazy and distorted. Part of her questioned if this was just her mind experiencing death for the very first time, if this is just how death works, but..
... but Chouko... Chouko stared forward to see her own dead body right before her eyes.
Staring at a vision of what should have happened to her, seeing a limp and dead body that had a bullet cleanly go through her forehead and gush out blood, immediately deceased and bleeding out her remaining life. That's what should have happened, and Chouko's watching what should have happened, experiencing an out of body experience at this.
Out of body, because she still felt like she was lying against the ground while seeing this. Her eyes looking about as her dead body remains in her sight, moving along with her wandering eyes as she- aimlessly- looked around the cubicle.
Chouko is completely, completely confused and bewildered by this. A disorienting feeling clouds her mind as she simultaneously felt alive and dead, a fluttering feeling spreading throughout her veins, something inexplicable happening right before her eyes.
The girl is simultaneously unharmed on the ground... and watching her body from high up.
Chouko's eyes remaining wide and in shock at this most disorienting, this most confusing of sensations. The only question in her mind as she feels completely alive yet watches the view of her own dead body:
What?
It didn't make sense. Chouko couldn't make sense of this, being alive yet seeing herself dead. It made no sense.
That is- until that vision of her, lying dead... it moves away from her. It completely stands up and backs away, leading to a sight of the revolver getting in front of the vision.
And it was that moment that she realizes, as she stared at the hands appearing slowly...
... Chouko was just staring at her own "dead body" through Griffin's eyes.
"..."
"S... Sir, is something the matter...?" a mercenary whispers quietly behind Griffin.
"Y... w... well... uhm..." Griffin stutters... staring at the gun. "S... Spread out and stand by..."
Idly, the mercenaries start to leave from the stairway, Griffin looking back at the mercenaries. Giving Chouko ample view of them as they spread out. Five men, all of which are the mercenaries that were outside, these insignificant people...
... her main focus right now is this apparent phenomenon involving Griffin, his- sight. A completely bewildering phenomenon transpiring right before her eyes. Right now, Griffin thinks she's dead, the same way she believed she should be dead. Somehow, he's seeing her dead body, shot dead in gruesome fashion.
This unintentional ruse of hers... absolutely bewildering. Chouko continues to stare at the ceiling while partially seeing through Griffin's eyes... watching as he holds his gun in utter, bewildered shock.
Something beyond Chouko's comprehension, something that leaves her completely bewildered as her eyes remain wide open, keeping her eyes pried open. Making sure she doesn't blink once, so that Griffin doesn't see- any eye movements to indicate she's still alive.
To distract herself from the strain, the heavy strain on her eyes... Chouko thinks about Griffin's bewilderment. His confusion. Leaving her wondering why he's... confused.
Was he shocked that he killed her? Was the plan really just to keep Chouko alive? Did these people intend to keep her alive, to the point where they would excuse the plentiful deaths of their fellow man? Is Griffin now going to be punished for disobeying orders, or something? He did damage the box, he's probably shaken up by this...
... no. No. There has to be more to it than that.
Chouko thinks heavily on it while Griffin remains in the dark, in the dark.
Sure, it would make sense if his shock stems from this concern. The mercenaries have gone through lengths to make sure Chouko remains alive. They kept her alive and conscious in the truck, they intended to escort her while keeping her conscious... and, other than those acting in self defense, Steele included, they went so far as to refrain from immediately hurting or killing her until absolutely necessary.
The improvised plan must have always been to intimidate her, and - after her little soda trick to forcibly damage and shut off the building's power - they must be improvising, using the cover of the darkness to frighten and threaten her. Griffin's proven to be more than capable enough to kill her in the dark, having a clear enough shot at her with ample time to do so...
Though... if that's the case, why point the gun at her anyway? Is it truly, purely intimidation? If that's the case... if... if his gun only had a single bullet... if Griffin threatened her with a gun with just one bullet in it, what was the rationale behind it?
His revolver holds only six bullets, having one bullet instead of zero or six has virtually no difference behind it. Having a single bullet makes no sense, unless...
...
... oh.
Oh.
Wait. Chouko feels tense, realizing: that's why the man is confused. That's why he's utterly perplexed at this, staring at the gun and its chamber. If he never intended to fire, there's no difference between zero or six bullets.
So, it was never loaded to begin with.
He didn't load his gun. He never loaded it in the first place. It WAS purely intimidation, and a counter to Chouko attempting to take the gun.
It all makes sense to Chouko now. Griffin must have meant to say something along the lines of: "Tch- nice try, you seriously went for my gun?" A comment intended to mock and ridicule her, meant to demean her attempt to use a gun with no bullets in it. Almost to demoralize her, to cement her defeat, to build up to some condescending triumph over her. He had the confidence to approach with an empty gun, as if it were bait.
Meaning... just a moment ago... Griffin saw a gun with no bullets fire one out, killing her with a single pull.
"... what the absolute hell...?" Griffin mumbles, looking up from the gun and staring at Chouko. Staring at her head, staring at the bullet wound that pierced through her skin. Staring back at the gun, clicking it closed and pulling the trigger. No gunfire.
Chouko continues to watch Griffin struggle completely to understand what happened, as he- mysteriously takes aim at Chouko with the empty gun, and pulls the empty trigger three times.
Bang.
Bang.
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Bang.
Every single pull of the trigger fires a bullet out. Loud ring of the gun, bright flash of the gun- causing more and more holes in her body. Puncturing her heart, her lungs, and her stomach...
It was at the third shot that Chouko's eyes started to ache, that she felt an intense strain on them. Instead of her- supposed "gun" wounds, Chouko felt- absolute pain in her eyes. Forced to shut her eyes closed, to ease the pain and dryness from leaving them open, she... she tenses up. Hoping Griffin doesn't- notice- any bit of it.
Yet, curiously... Chouko still sees herself through Griffin's eyes, still able to see her own dead body. Even with her own eyes shut, she can still see the five bloodied wounds in her body... and... her... eyes... still open. Virtually no difference in Chouko's movements, as if her body truly was dead right before Griffin.
"W... What in the... is... what..." Griffin mumbles in complete confusion...
Chouko is also- confused... bewildered by what was happening. Both her and Griffin are now made aware that the gunfire isn't real, yet- the sight, the sound, both of these seem excessively real...
"..."
Then, Chouko could hear the faint mumbles of the Executioner's voice speaking through her phone. Asking something that she couldn't precisely understand, phone too far from her ear.
Griffin proceeds to speak instead, responding with his own communications system. "... she's- Sir, I think my exhaustion is catching up to me. A-Ashford's lying dead right in front of me as we speak..."
"..." Chouko quietly listens and follows along the conversation. Contextually, Griffin is answering a question about her, giving a status update about the situation. Griffin still believes her to be dead, even without the fatal wounds, which... is a good sign. Something to keep in mind, for... however long this will last.
"... yes, my gun was unloaded as you instructed..." Griffin mumbles. "No bullets. Ashford is armed with the others' guns, and she's shot and injured in the shoulder... but- for a moment, my gun- fired four times. Specifically while aimed at her."
Chouko's eyes remain strained, seeing- her body moving out of view. Watching as Griffin looks away from the cubicle, momentarily distracted as he reaches into his pocket.
... tch. Eyes off of her for the briefest of moments, Chouko quickly pulls a gun out from the skirt, holds it tightly in her hand... and gets up quickly, moving to the far corner of the cubicle. A foolish mistake from the man, taking his eyes off of her- getting up quickly and hiding with her back against the cubicle wall divider.
Chouko is relying on the slim possibility that Griffin will be distracted enough to not see her in the corner of his eyes, that the man will be panicked about the missing body that mysteriously disappeared, that he wouldn't be able to see her aiming a gun at him.
Then, as Griffin turns back, Chouko prepares her aim.
"Right... right... I see. Okay. Loud and clear..."
...
Yet... as Griffin supposedly turns back, after he loads his gun with bullets, his eyes still see Chouko's dead body. Looking down at the lifeless corpse, still unknowingly deluded into this farce. This- complete and utter lie. He's still able to see the collapsed Chouko lying against the ground... still seeing her wounds, still seeing all of it.
"... hey. One of you, come back over here," Griffin calls out. "We need to carry her body up the stairs."
Chouko's eyes... widen at this, her breath forcibly held as she stares forward. Able to see where Griffin's- head should be, slowly aiming her gun up. Preparing herself to shoot...
Slow and steady, careful and cautious... exploiting the fact that he couldn't see her...
Carefully making sure she has a good enough shot on the man...
... and it was in that moment that a different mercenary... comes into view, and- stares at Chouko. His eyes currently lighting up, able to have a good- good view of her in the dark, seeing the girl simply aiming a gun unknowing at Griffin.
"W... WHAT THE-?!" the mercenary shouts, aiming his gun up at Chouko. "W-WATCH OUT! S-SHE'S-!"
Griffin's eyesight- shows him briefly looking over at the mercenary in confusion, seeing the man aiming at- him, out of nowhere. "W-What?! What are you talking about-?!"
Chouko's eyes widen at this, the trembling ache flooding her eyes as she stares this mercenary down... her eyes straining again as she takes aim at the mercenary.
"Ghkk!" the mercenary noises, quickly firing out at Chouko.
The bullet fires straight past Griffin, who- saw the mercenary shooting at him, and moved to dodge the shot. Chouko watches as the bullet flies past his invisible body...
... and- reacts quickly by dropping down to her knees. The bullet aimed at her head, hitting straight into the cubicle wall. Reacting just in time for it to fly over her head, missing her.
"S-She was aiming RIGHT at you, Griffin-!" the mercenary shouts.
Chouko, in turn, pulls the trigger quickly at this mercenary-
... only to see that the gun didn't fire, realizing: It was one of the empty guns she kept on her possession.
No bullets- yet... curiously... the phenomenon happens a second time...
From Griffin's eyes, specifically, he sees the gun shoot. The flash of the gunfire, the bullet headed right for the mercenary...
... and the mercenary- the disorienting sight of the mercenary just dodging out of the way from her eyes, while- Griffin- sees the mercenary's brains blown out against the wall.
"D-Damn it!" the mercenary shouts, taking aim at Chouko- and simultaneously falling against the ground. "W-We need backup, now! E-Everyone, group up, she's in this cubicle!"
"W..." Griffin noises, backing- away to the stairway, starting to hyperventilate as he just watches a mercenary shout after sudden death. "What the...?!"
Chouko- shakes as she glares at this mercenary, ducking behind cover quickly- causing Griffin to look back over, seeing- two- of her. Dead, and standing, at the same time.
At this point... the pain in Chouko's eyes starts to get to be too much... and Griffin's vision completely fades from her view. Forcibly snapping her away from- whatever this phenomenon was. Leaving her wincing in pain as her eyes forcibly shut, as she forcibly and quickly regains her composure. Recomposing herself as much as possible, the pain in her eyes starting to clear up as the only part of Griffin she could see was... the floating gun. Watching and seeing the floating gun head to the stairwell, fleeing immediately.
"... tch..." Chouko backs up into the cubicle, her eye starting to twitch again. Forced into a corner after all of that, watching as Griffin hastily flees. The sounds of footsteps ringing out as the mercenaries come closer to the cubicle... as Chouko remains out of sight for now, as she only has a few seconds to- prepare herself.
With the incoming group of mercenaries, they- all know where she is, precisely... the game of numbers very much against her. If she carelessly pursues Griffin, she'll be caught in severe crossfire. It's something she could possibly handle, but- ... something feels wrong. Something feels- wrong.
Chouko stares at the empty gun, overwhelmed by all of this. Griffin's empty gun shooting out four times when specifically aimed at her... her own gun- causing some reaction with the mercenary being shot dead and- dodging- and- huh...?!
Chouko's eyes twitch and dart about in the dark. Mere seconds passing as she feels- everything- just slow down, as her mind is utterly flooded with her surroundings. Now- aware- of the putrid scent of blood, the ringing sounds of incoming shouting and footsteps, the foul taste in her mouth... seeing the empty gun in her hands, feeling pure adrenaline coursing through her veins at this situation...
She's... so close- so close to just... just-!
"S-Shit!" a mercenary loudly shouts- his footsteps halting completely. "W-Watch where you're aiming that!"
...
Huh?
Chouko... hears this after her finger had instinctively pulled the trigger of her empty gun. There was no rhyme or reason as to why she did this, as she had a ready supply of collected guns in her current skirt, but... Chouko's eyes widen as this mercenary's words... intrigue her.
Watch where you're aiming that... he says.
Why is that? Why did he call out to his fellow man, as if the mercenary is the one to fire instead of her? It's almost as if he could see a bullet fired from...
...
... thus, Chouko pulls the trigger again. Focusing her mind heavily on this, keeping her mind focused on the phenomenon of the empty gun.
"D-Damn it! W-What the hell are you doing?!"
"W-What do you mean?! Y-You're the one shooting at-!"
More panic...
This... this feels...
...
Chouko... feels like- exploiting this. Her finger rapidly pulls the trigger of her empty gun over and over again, hearing the empty gun's click over and over again- yet, despite this, she can vividly hears the other mercenaries panic wildly at this. Completely- utterly amazed at this, her eye twitching heavily.
"D-Damn it, take cover-! W-What the hell is going on?!"
"I-Is that Ashford? Or-?!"
"N-No, it's one of us, wildly shooting! D-Damn it, Hernandez, what the hell are you-"
"M-ME?! I'm not doing ANYTHING!"
Grinning wildly like a mad woman... as the phenomenon isn't just isolated to her and Griffin. It potentially applies to every mercenary in the room, able to- see bullets, somehow. One of them- seeing another shoot his gun wildly, or- possibly them hypothetically seeing her own gunshots.
Chouko has a miracle in her hand... subjected to a shining hope in this darkness. Her eyes wide with glee, concentrating heavily... having a theory about what's going on, believing to herself that- somehow... the mercenaries believe this empty gun is firing!
It- it isn't just isolated to this one gun! It's Griffin's, too- his, and hers- and- and... what?
What is this? What- what exactly is going on...?!
... there's... a lot for Chouko to unpack with this, stuff that doesn't just pique her curiosity- it grabs a hold of it, strangling and squeezing it like a rubber ball. Something that... that will have to be paid attention to later, as Chouko's revelation of this phemomenon- clears her mind. Her breath easing up, believing a mysterious oddity to now be on her side. One that has saved her life two times in this room alone, and will somehow protect her.
Protecting her... when she runs straight out of the cubicle and makes a dash to the stairway.
Making a mad, mad dash to the exit, running as fast as possible. Seeing no bullets being fired from the other mercenaries- at least, not until she crosses the halfway point.
At this point, as she runs with her finger continuing to pull the trigger of the empty gun, Chouko- is made aware of why- why the mercenaries were left in sheer panic. Spontaneously, she sees a storm of bullets spreading out from her, watching as several bullets suddenly appear in the air, shooting out at the mercenaries.
The two closest ones seem to be taking cover, watching as the bullets fire... too focused on the shooting bullets to do anything about her.
"W-What the- is that Ashford?!"
... Chouko's eyes and ears overwhelmed by this sight, this most- surreal of sights... and, curiously enough, able to discern that these aren't real. That these sights- are completely unreal.
As she runs through the bullets, the- the bullets that spawn with each pull of the empty gun, Chouko witnesses the imagery of the bullets distort and waver into red and black dust. Some form of- optical illusion, something quite akin to... to fairy dust. Small little bits of black and red fairy dust.
All of it raining down, coming from- something small in the air, high up in the ceiling, something that- that... Chouko could now see vividly. A single, small creature, something with wings, something- red and black and... and... insectile...
... a... a butterfly.
A- a monarch- no, a viceroy butterfly. Something that flaps its wings on the ceiling, spreading out plentiful amounts of dust in the darkness. For some reason, there's- a butterfly in the office building, origins unknown, and... and... curiously enough... Chouko sees a different color from black and red around it. Dangling from its body, as its feet secure something... blond from it.
And... squinting her eyes in this split second, as she flees... Chouko sees... that the butterfly has some small strands of blond hair dangling from its feet.
...
Chouko... Chouko just runs into the stairs, flees as she keeps pulling the trigger, as the mercenaries are left behind in the utter chaos transpiring. Given one of the biggest, biggest miracles she's ever been given... pursuing Griffin up the stairs, chasing after the invisible man.
As she keeps pulling the trigger, it... dawns on her, what this is. What this could be. Apart from the whole- butterfly spreading dust thing, there's- something else to it. The phenomenon that's been on the tip of her tongue, the one Chouko only now understands as she ascends the stairs with an empty gun that's still spontaneously firing fake bullets.
What this phenomenon is... what oddity that Chouko has on her side... she... she knows what to call it.
The strongest case, the most unusual and strangely magical case...
... of the placebo effect.